The Ancient Art of Rapé: Sacred Tobacco and the Black Earth

Meeting a Shawandawa Elder

On one of my many trips to the Amazon, I had the privilege of speaking at length with Wawacuru Curushiña — "Enchanted Macaw" — an elder of the Shawandawa people. Hers is one of only a handful of ethnic groups remaining in the Juruá Valley of western Brazil, where her people have lived for generations. The wisdom of these cultures is passed down mostly by word of mouth, and especially by the elders, so to sit with Wawacuru was a rare gift. After our greetings we spoke of many facets of tribal life, but what she most wanted to share was the art of making rapé, and its place in her tradition.

What Is Rapé?

Rapé is a traditional snuff of the Amazon, typically made with tobacco and ash from specific tree species such as Tsunu or Samaúma. In its simplest form it has just two ingredients: tobacco and ash. A more elaborate blend carries additional herbs, chosen by the maker to shape its character. For the full picture of what rapé is and how people use it today, see our guide What Is Rapé (Hapé)?

How Rapé Is Taken

Rapé is applied with a kuripe, a small self-applicator, or blown by another person through a longer tepi pipe. The kuripe is V-shaped — one end at the mouth, the other at the nostril — and a short, firm breath carries the snuff. In many tribes the word Haux is spoken or chanted three times afterwards, a way of honouring the moment and expressing connection, gratitude or intention. (Our Rapé Ceremony Guide covers the ritual side in depth.)

Wawacuru spoke of rapé as a central medicine in her people's tradition — something that, as she described it, steadies the mind, lifts the heart and deepens spiritual connection. These are the meanings her culture gives it, passed down through the generations; they describe a tradition, not a medical treatment.

Rapé and the Making of the Black Earth

Historically, rapé was made only by the wisest of the tribe, and its origin stories reach as far back as the practice of the "black earth." The two are connected. To create rich black soil, the people cleared a patch of jungle, burned the trees down to ash, and worked those ashes back into the ground. While the younger men made the earth, the elder medicine keepers — the Pajés — experimented with the ashes of different trees and plants, and over time learned the distinct qualities of each. Those same ashes became the foundation of rapé.

Remarkably, modern science bears out the achievement. Research confirms that the Amazon's famous "dark earths" (terra preta) were made by people, not nature — enriched over centuries by ash, charcoal and organic remains from settlement life.¹ The clearings, laid with this black earth, were then planted with yucca, papaya, plantain, pineapple and more, which thrived in the fertile ground.

The Sacred Tobacco Ally

The tobacco plant would often establish itself in these clearings on its own, its broad leaves shading the bare jungle floor from the glaring sun and the torrential rains. It was the perfect ally. Once the plant had matured and its leaves had dried naturally in the elements, the medicine keepers gathered them, ground them to a fine powder, and combined them with the tree ashes. If a rapé was meant for a particular purpose, the Pajé would add chosen herbs, and often sang prayers over the work as it was made.

The Woods and Ashes of Rapé

Wawacuru told me of at least fifteen kinds of wood ash the ancients used. Among them are Tsunu, Paricá, Murici, Mulateiro and Imbaúba, each named for the tree it comes from. These ancient trees carry years of stored sunlight, and their sandy, textured bark burns down to a fine ash much like talcum powder. Many everyday rapés today still contain only tobacco and ash, with each people favouring their own: the Katukina lean toward Mulateiro, while the Yawanawá prefer Tsunu.

Stronger blends came with the addition of dried leaves from shrubs and trees. Each addition was chosen to shape the blend's character in tradition — Sansarah, Cacau, Mugwort and Caapi Cipó are among the more than thirty plants traditionally used to give each rapé its distinct spiritual and cultural signature. Every rapé is unique, from tribe to tribe and Pajé to Pajé.

The Three Kinds of Rapé

In tradition, blends are grouped by the purpose they're made for. The ash and herbs are selected to lean a rapé toward one of three broad characters:

These are traditional groupings that describe how a blend is used in ceremony and daily life — not statements of medical effect.

A Living Tradition Under Threat

As I said goodbye to Wawacuru, I couldn't help feeling saddened by the steady advance of so-called civilisation. Many tribal homelands are now under pressure from corporations hungry for oil or pasture, and the activists who stand in the way are too often threatened or found dead under mysterious circumstances. I believe it's vital that we learn to balance the old and the new. To discard the old ways for the new can lead to a kind of blindness — there are answers still held in the jungle, answers we may one day need.

Origins of Rapé: FAQ

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